434 History
FIND OUT MORE. Age of Empire 422–423
INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
Nations have always formed alliances. In the 20th
century, many new international organizations were
set up worldwide for economic and political reasons,
defence and peacekeeping, health and welfare.
Decolonization
After 1945, European nations began to give up their
colonies. In some places, power was handed back to
local people peacefully. White South Africans refused to
share power, creating a system of. APARTHEID.
FIND OUT MORE. World War I 426–427 • World War II 432–433
WHY WAS THE UNITED NATIONS FOUNDED?
The League of Nations was founded in 1919 to keep
the peace after World War I. But it failed to prevent
World War II in 1939, so in 1945 the nations of the
world set up a new organization, the United Nations
(UN). Since then, the UN has encouraged international
co-operation and worked to resolve conflict.WHAT OTHER ALLIANCES WERE SET UP?
Some alliances have been political, such as the
Arab League (1945) or the Organization of African Unity
(1963–2002). The European Economic Community (1958)
grew from a small trading alliance into the European
Union. Military alliances included the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (1949–) and the Warsaw Pact (1955–1991).WHAT WERE THE EFFECTS OF APARTHEID?
Black people were not permitted to live in areas
reserved for whites. They were not even allowed to sit
on the same benches. Many black people endured bad
housing, poverty, and inadequate education. Black
and white South Africans who protested against
apartheid risked imprisonment or death.WHEN DID APARTHEID END?
The end of apartheid came in 1994, when Nelson
Mandela won South Africa’s first democratic general
election. This occasion marked the end of two
centuries in which Europeans had attempted to rule
the rest of the world. However, the newly independent
nations of Africa still face many problems.WHEN DID WINDS OF CHANGE BLOW?
In 1960, the British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan
made a speech in South Africa, declaring that a
“wind of change” was blowing through the African
continent. He meant that the age of empires and
colonies was coming to an end. Today only a few
colonies or “overseas territories” still exist.THE OLIVE BRANCH 3
The United Nations flag
shows the world surrounded by
olive branches, a symbol of peace.
The UN has sent peace-keeping
forces around the world.FRENCH ALGERIA 3
From 1954 to 1962, the French
fought nationalist rebels in
Algeria. This war caused great
bitterness among the Algerians
and French who lived in the
colony. Independence was
finally granted in 1962.APARTHEID
Apartheid is a word from the Afrikaans language which means
“staying apart”. It was the South African government’s policy of
racial separation from 1948 to 1994. White people, who made up
only 14 per cent of the population, refused to give the vote to
black or Asian people. These peoples were denied basic rights and
NELSON MANDELA were not allowed to mix with the whites.
1918-
Nelson Mandela was a black
lawyer who campaigned
against apartheid. Imprisoned
from 1964–1990, he became a
symbol of resistance. After his
release, he became South
Africa’s first black president.international
organizationsdecolonization